UFA introduced an internal Top Hand recognition program for our AgriBusiness team to recognize those employees that show a spirit of selflessness, are willing to help with tasks outside their normal responsibility, believe "good enough is never good enough," embody the co-operative spirit and/or rise above adversity.
Our team is invited to nominate deserving individuals. "Winning" nominations, as determined by our in-store employees, are then sent to Area Managers to pick the ultimate winners by area. Our quarterly Top Hands are rewarded with a special pin and gift cards that increase with additional wins.
We pride ourselves on exemplary customer service at all of our UFA sites and strive to continuously improve. We do have a Rate Us survey set up for customer feedback and value all of the comments we receive. The URL for this survey can be found at the bottom of our UFA till receipts. Hearing from external stakeholders is always satisfying, but when a teammate gives you a shout-out, that is extra special.
We are pleased to announce our Q2 winners here. If you see them while shopping at their UFA location, don't be shy, give them a big "high five":
Austin Andrew, CSSR2, Provost Farm & Ranch Supply
Top Hand Winner - Central
Austin was chosen as one of this quarter's Top Hands because of the example he has set for what people should strive to do every day. His growth has really shone through this first half of the year, particularly with his outreach initiatives and supporting other teams in the Central Area, assisting with projects, providing mentorship and driving top-line sales with CARE 2.0.
Lisa Carvill, CSSR3, Brooks Farm & Ranch Supply
Top Hand Winner – South
Lisa's exemplary dedication to UFA earned her the Top Hand award this quarter. She has been a strong team player who was instrumental inkeeping the Brooks Farm Store operational through a high-turnover period where she worked 10-hour days, six days a week, opening and closing the store daily.
Lisa's commitment was not only noted by UFA Managers, but also by a customer who took the time to send a special call-out "She is such a joy to see when you walk into the store here in Brooks. She will always give you a laugh and send you on your way with what you are needing to purchase for the day. I know that she has been working lots lately by herself and she did excellent job in keeping up with all that us customers needed!"
Joe Varga, Assistant Store Manager,
Drayton Valley Farm & Ranch Supply
Top Hand Winner – North
During the wildfires, Joe was evacuated from working at the Drayton Valley Farm Store. Following a few days of being at home, he wanted to get back to work so he travelled to the Mayerthorpe Farm Store to put in a few hours each day to help out, Mayerthorpe was busy with customers wanting pumps, etc. for their fire-fighting efforts. Joe even spoke with a customer from Breton who was needing posts and proceeded to set up an order for the customer to pick up in Mayerthorpe and then once the Drayton Valley location was reopened, they were able to pick up the rest of the order there.
The extra effort put in by Joe was greatly appreciated by the team at Mayerthorpe. He even pitched in and took the half-ton to Spruce Grove a couple of times to pick up some product needed as the Mayerthorpe truck driver was also evacuated but was stuck in Hinton and could not get into work.
